Fixing stuff on my car

[monotonorobo]

Speaking of bubbles, I think the cooling system had a big air bubble in it. I bled it a few more times and parked up a hill at my job. Hoses were flat last night before I left so I took the cap off and filled the remaining space. When I woke up this morning the hoses had structure to them again and didn’t stay crushed… I still don’t trust it so I’m gonna be checking daily for about 2 weeks.

My overflow hose might also be too short as well so I was gonna get a connection and combine it with the hose I stole off of the overflow I got at the JY.

[p71towny]

Will the newer stats fit? They have a little bleeder built in. As far as newer B body GMs, my personal favorite would be a 95 Buick road master. Looks awesome, drives beautiful and can be fitted with all the aftermarket impala SS goodies.

[GMUE03]

The new thermostats will fit, they just don’t have the slightly oblong diameter that fits in the housing to keep it from rotating, not that you need it anyways. I usually put a tiny smear of RTV/silicone on the recessed side of the housing to keep the thermostat from rotating during installation.

I’m willing to bet that most of your air is trapped in the heater core. I know my 89’ was a real pain to bleed air from, so much so that I installed a heater core flush tee with a cap on it on one my heater core lines. I would just barely crack it open for a few seconds while I was bleeding the system normally and it seemed to work flawlessly.

[gadget73]

you can also just drill a small hole in the thermostat, though honestly I have usually just loosened a clamp on one of the heater hoses and used that to burp it. Now I have one of those groovy vacuum filler things which is just an awesome tool. Makes it very much a no-effort affair.

[monotonorobo]

Yeah, when I drain it again and fill it with coolant I’ll bleed from the heater hose. There’s a mix of coolant and water in it from when I put in the new radiator to see if it was working.

I’ve found a really nice 83 coupe that I’m gonna try to get in the next week or two, only issue is it has no AC and r134a conversions are easy on these. Those came with CFI right? I’ve heard it’s horrible but if it’s really that bad I’ll do a carb swap then the AC. I know there’s guides here for it but I don’t think it’s a lot of work to do one.

[Arquemann]

Yeah, when I drain it again and fill it with coolant I’ll bleed from the heater hose. There’s a mix of coolant and water in it from when I put in the new radiator to see if it was working.

I’ve found a really nice 83 coupe that I’m gonna try to get in the next week or two, only issue is it has no AC and r134a conversions are easy on these. Those came with CFI right? I’ve heard it’s horrible but if it’s really that bad I’ll do a carb swap then the AC. I know there’s guides here for it but I don’t think it’s a lot of work to do one.

'83 had a different CFI setup than 84 & 85 because its EEC-III, it's got some extra-unobtanium parts compared to EEC-IV CFI. It would be a good candidate for a carb swap if it starts giving trouble.

An Autolite 2150 with the correct AOD linkage for $250-ish off RockAuto or a rebuilt junkyard unit, one of those ugly HEI distributors and a suitable bypass fuel pressure reg and you're all done for like 500 bucks.

When I went from CFI to carb I was a sucker for more power and spent wayyy too much time, money and effort on a 4bbl setup.

[monotonorobo]

I’ll keep that in mind for when it starts acting up or if I just feel like doing it one day. I probably won’t do anything else to it besides exhaust stuff and whitewalls.

[DerekTheGreat]

CFI in all it's iterations is for the hobbyist/constant tinkerer. If you must buy that '83, start piling parts while it's still running to convert it to SEFI for peace of mind. Convert it to a garburator if you don't mind headaches.

[gadget73]

yeah big no thanks on maintaining EEC3 CFI. Or CFI in general really. Its getting harder to make a solid case for SEFI stuff too with as old and hard to get as all this crap is. I'm not a carb guy but for a CFI car it probably is the easier path. I'd run the stock fuel pump and a return type reg too. That will basically eliminate vapor lock issues, and honestly its the lazy method since it doesn't require messing with anything in the tank. Its not hard to key-on operate a relay.

[monotonorobo]

Oh I didn’t know CFI had vapor lock issues, that’s scary. I guess when I get the car I’ll get the carb and regulator before it shits the bed. This will be my first time messing with a carburetor but I’m sure I could learn and figure out stuff about it. I was originally looking for an 87 at first for the EFI since that’s preferable.

[gadget73]

It doesn't, but carbs can, especially with mechanical fuel pumps. The fuel sits there and boils. Not a problem with an electric pump, especially with a return system. it doesn't hang out in the engine bay long enough to boil off.

a slightly more ideal config would be to swap the high pressure in-tank for a low pressure in-tank but I would not be screwing with a mechanical fuel pump as part of a carb conversion. Also its probably got the wrong timing cover and no fuel pump eccentric anyway.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Regards to a few things... I know if I ask for a '87 [$any_panther] thermostat at a parts counter, I'll get a thermostat that has the air bleed and can be twisted to wedge into the thermostat outlet so it doesn't lend itself to being troublesome to get seated. Had to use such a thermostat on my friend's Mustang II because of the "recommended" thermostats always kept shifting around while trying to seat the housing + thermostat assembly. Worth noting that car also had a warped thermostat outlet and I wound up RTV'ing the outlet to the intake outright, since there was no chance at ever getting even a RTV coated paper gasket to seal properly.


If I looked a CFI car, unfortunately a EEC-III would be right out and a EEC-IV type would immediately be subject to a timing chain job and general top end reseal at a minimum. I've been satisfied with my '79 (even if it did need a replacement block) on a 2BBL carb being delivered as a non-feedback car (no EEC-II; original VV2700 setup). Aspirations will result in a 4BBL setup this year, but after ironing all the kinks out of a vehicle that sat for a good while, there's not much to be feared on a conventionally carbuerated application with Duraspark II ignition.

I still would err towards a '86+ car simply because of how pleasant the SEFI system is to deal with on EEC-IV. If approaching an earlier setup, maybe some trepidation is key, but regardless, at the end of the day you are still dealing with a conventional SBF and you can adapt that as desired.

[monotonorobo]

I haven’t seen much 86 and 87 boxes for sale, most of them are like 85 and under. I already have an 89 so I wanted an older box. I’ll look around a bit more but I still do want the 83, despite the CFI. I’m willing to work on that and sort it out when the time comes.

[DerekTheGreat]

It doesn't, but carbs can, especially with mechanical fuel pumps. The fuel sits there and boils. Not a problem with an electric pump, especially with a return system. it doesn't hang out in the engine bay long enough to boil off...

It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of that could be mitigated with one of those phenolic/plastic garburator spacers. From what I've seen, you tend to pick up power too.

I haven’t seen much 86 and 87 boxes for sale, most of them are like 85 and under. I already have an 89 so I wanted an older box. I’ll look around a bit more but I still do want the 83, despite the CFI. I’m willing to work on that and sort it out when the time comes.

There are extenuating circumstances like styling or color options, but in most cases you actually want the later car. I think this is especially true for boxes. SEFI cars got roller cams, for example. Also, better stereo systems that were easier to convert to aftermarket given Ford moved away from the common ground system. I think there's a reason for that mysterious availability. It's just like with the Cadillac Brougham crowd- you seldom see the 1990 - 1992 years for sale. Those were ideal (IMO) as those years could be had with the LO5 (TBI 350) engine.

...I still would err towards a '86+ car simply because of how pleasant the SEFI system is to deal with on EEC-IV...

Pleasant indeed. When I sold my '85 LTD Crown Vic and moved to my '88 Town Box, maan what an improvement! I've never looked back. Doesn't look as cool under the hood, but no Rube Goldberg idle controls and aside from the flakey relay connection I dealt with last year, it's never left me stranded and I've never had to touch it aside from basic maintenance.

[gadget73]

It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of that could be mitigated with one of those phenolic/plastic garburator spacers. From what I've seen, you tend to pick up power too.



.

depends where your boiling issue originates. If its boiling in the fuel pump a carb spacer won't do much. At a minimum having the fuel sit in the pump up front next to the water pump does a real fine job of pre-heating it, especially at idle when not much is moving or if you shut the engine off. later mechanical pumps had return lines which help considerably with this. The electric pump with a return regulator would get the same thing done, and doesn't require swapping the timing cover or messing with the pickup in the tank. Different paths to the same place.